Nasty Reservoir Bypass Now a Memory

After an endless closure, the Lexington Reservoir paved trail is open again.

After two years of being denied the use of the paved Los Gatos Creek Trail up the face of Lexington Reservoir (14 percent), it is now open! I can’t tell you what a pain it was having to ride up (and down) the trail alongside the Lenihan Dam spillway. The gravel road has a steady grade of at least 20 percent. That test of lungs and legs is no fun, even for the young and strong.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District, whose website is seemingly always down, explains why the trail had to be closed for construction of a water diversion tunnel. Let’s hope we’ve seen the end of Los Gatos Creek trail closures.

While I enjoy riding on the trail, there’s one nasty steep spot remaining. Clearly, the South Pacific Coast route followed a gentler grade as it climbed through the canyon. It crossed the creek on a trestle about where the steep spot is located.

Where was Rails to Trails when we needed them? If we had that route to Santa Cruz today, it would be one of the most spectacular trails in all of California. I mapped the route and have photos of the tunnel entrances, blasted shut by the U.S. Army in 1942.

One Response to “Nasty Reservoir Bypass Now a Memory”

I agree with you on the train route. The tunnels should all be reopened and an easement should be granted for use of the original rail throughway. The route would attract riders from all over the world. We take for granted our ability to ride for hours through thick redwood forests. This would be such a great ride that most, even locals, would not mind paying an access toll.

On a side note, there is no reason why the old creek trail from Aldercroft Heights Rd to Wrights Station Rd. should be closed. San Jose Water closed it they say for purposes of national security. Something seems strange in that argument.